When analyzing your audience, ask yourself the following questions:
-
What does my audience know (or not know) about my topic? If you are proposing a community garden project to an audience of city residents who know little about gardening, you will need to describe the pleasures and benefits of gardening to capture their interest.
-
What is the education, background, and experience of my audience? If you are writing your garden-project proposal for an audience of low-income residents, you might emphasize how much money they could save by growing vegetables, and if you are proposing the project to middle-income residents, you might stress is how relaxing gardening can be and how a garden can beautify a neighborhood.
-
What attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or biases are my audience likely to hold? Suppose your audience believes that most development is harmful to the environment. If you are writing an essay urging your audience to sponsor a new community garden, consider emphasizing how the garden will benefit the environment and decrease development.
-
What tone do my readers expect? Suppose you are writing to your local city council urging council members to approve the community garden. Although the council has been stalling on the issue, your tone should be serious and not accusatory. As community leaders, the council members expect to be treated with respect.
-
What tone will help me achieve my purpose? If you are writing to your city counselor to urge her to support the community garden, a respectful tone is more likely to achieve your goal than a hostile one.
|